Windows 7?

[Zonks]

Windowed mode works fine.

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by Zonks

Windowed mode works fine.

That is the psychedelic screen, where some other Windows programme has messed up the 256 colour palette.

I find that it seems to be the Avast anti-virus on my machine that triggers that (e.g when it does a database update in the background). A restart of the PC clears the problem. If it has not been happening before on your PC, then suspect something new - software or hardware (e.g. a new video driver update). Also - running memory-hogging programmes like MS Office (word, excel etc) sometimes gives me the problem if I then decide to play the game. Probably from lack of virtual RAM - sometimes, just closing down word, Excel etc will allow me to restart the game in normal 256 colour, but sometimes one has to reboot the PC and play it "fresh" without having run any other programmes.

But if it happens a lot, then windowed mode is just as good esp if you have the CD version. If you have the CD version then set up the resolution to something larger than your desktop. You now have a "full screen" game, but with the Windows taskbar visible at the bottom of the screen - you can see if email has arrived, and you have a clock. You may need to configure the mouse scroll area, if you have problems with scroll detection at the bottom of the screen. Also, remember to use the default Windows taskbar (standard height, and no auto-hide) as described in the tuning your machine section of the GG. Windowed mode full screen is also the best option for wide-screen monitors.

I must admit that I really hardly bother with Full Screen DirectX. It has performance advantages for folks with older more restricted machines, but modern CPUs manage the game with no lag, so using a windowed mode means that the programme is more "friendly" to other windows apps. (It will still hog CPU since it is a traditional DOS engine at heart).

Full Screen DirectX mode may still be useful to those who only have the D/L version and like running in 800x600 full screen mode. However, some flat-screen wide monitors dont show that very well, as it is not a native resolution. CRT monitors don't have the problem, obviously! .

Cheers
Andy

[Zonks]

I think it may be Windows 7 64bit or the drivers that go with it, I have a ton of resources available, both RAM and Virtual.
I had never seen this before, only after installing windows 7, but as long as it runs fine in Windowed mode Im happy.

This was the first time I ever started it up in windowed mode and it don't look too bad at all, I have the CD version so I can run it at 1280 x 1024.
Thanks for the tips Mobhack.

Mark.